Construction toy



Sept. 27, 1966 F. KOCH CONSTRUCTION TOY Filed May 28, 1963 United States Patent 3,274,728 CONSTRUCTIGN TOY Fritz Koch, 16 Plantagenstn, Beriin-Steglitz, Germany Fitted May 28, 1963, Ser. No. 284,294 Claims priority, application Germany, Feb. 16, 1959,

36,974 3 Claims. (Cl. 46-29) This invention relates to a construction toy and more particularly to a construction toy for joining rod-shaped structural elements with connector elements to construct toy or miniature houses, machines, vehicles and the like, and is disclosed herein as a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 4,917 filed January 27, 1960, and entitled, Connectors, and now abandoned.

The objects of my invention are to improve construction toys of this type which have been made in the past by providing connector elements for joining the rodshaped elements that are easy to handle, grip the rodshaped elements more securely, permit a great range of angular adjustment of the rod-shaped elements with respect to each other, and are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

In accordance with my invention there are provided a plurality of rod elements and a plurality of connector elements. Each of the connector elements has at least two spaced-apart sleeves that are formed with passages whose axes are substantially parallel to one another and at least one plate-like link connecting the sleeves to one another at one end thereof. The rod elements are received in the passages in friction-fit engagement with the sleeves. The plate-like link is disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axes of the passages and is flexible about an axis lying substantially in the plane. The rod elements may consequently be disposed in selected angular positions with respect to each other by flexing the plate-like links.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of my invention will be apparent from the preferred embodiments illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in conjunction with the following detailed description.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a connector element forming part of and constructed in accordance with my invention;

(FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the connector element;

FIG. 3a is a top plan view of two embodiments of the connector element, the embodiment on the left hand side of the figure being the same embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3b is a top plan view of three additional embodiments of the connector element; and

FIG. 4 is a side view partially broken away of various of the connector element embodiments in combination with the rod elements to form the construction toy of my invention.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, it can be seen that an embodiment of the connector element of my invention consists of two sleeves 1 that are interconnected at one end by a resilient and flexible flat leaf hinge or link 2. The sleeves 1 are adapted to receive and securely hold in frictional engagement the rod elements 3 (FIG. 4) within the openings or passages formed in the sleeves. As shown in FIG. 1, the sleeve passages are rectangular in cross-section and the rod elements 3 may consequently be of similar cross-section so as to fit snugly therein.

As seen in FIG. 1, the plate-like link 2 is substantially rectangular in shape, opposite edges thereof being connected along an entire side of the sleeves 1. The link 2 "ice is disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axes of the passages formed in the sleeves 1.

The embodiment of the connecting element shown in FIG. 2 is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 except that one side of the link 2' has an arcuate bulge whose axis is spaced substantially equidistantly from the sleeves 1 that are connected by the link 2.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the connector elements may consist not only of two sleeves with an interconnecting link but may also be formed of a greater number of sleeves and links. By way of example, FIGS. 3a and 3]) show additional connector elements having three, four and five sleeves and two, three and four links, respectively.

It is apparent from FIG. 311 that the axis of each sleeve is perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The axis of the center sleeve passage in each of the three connector elements illustrated in this figure is in a common plane with the axis of another sleeve passage such as the passage immediately to the left of the center sleeve passages of each connector element, and the axis of a third sleeve passage such as the passage immediately beneath the center sleeve passage in each of the connector elements illustrated in FIG. 3b is in a common plane with the axis of the respective center sleeve passage, the common planes of each connector element being perpendicular to each other.

It is also self-evident from FIG. 3b that the sleeves 1 may be so arranged as to form T-shaped, L-shaped or cruciform connector elements.

In addition to having a greater number of sleeves and links, it can also be seen from the right-hand embodiment of FIG. 3a and the center embodiment of FIG. 3b that connector elements having the same number of sleeves and links can nevertheless be formed with different structural relationship between the sleeves, thereby providing greater opportunity for joining the rod elements in more varied parallel positions relative to one another.

In FIG. 4 there is illustrated a number of angular positions in which the rod elements 3 can be placed with respect to each other through the inherent flexibility of the links 2 of the connector elements Which are formed in one piece of synthetic resin by known molding or extrusion processes. Because of their resilience, the links 2 may be stressed to assume various angular positions such as are shown in FIG. 4. When the stress is removed from the links 2, however, the connector elements are restored to their unstressed appearance such as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for example.

In the rightmost construction shown in FIG. 4, the connector element of FIG. 2 connects two rod elements 3 at right angles to each other, the arcuate bugling surface of the link 2 being firmly pressed against the rod elements so as to retain them securely in position when the link 2 is flexed.

It is thus within the scope of my invention to provide connector elements formed with sleeves and links of various numbers and of varied arrangement with respect to each other and to flex the links of the connector elements to many different angular positions so as to be able to join and arrange the rod elements parallel, perpendicular and obliquely to one another for assembling the rod elements and connector elements into toy or miniature structures according to the invention.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a construction toy, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the specific or generic aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to 'be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A construction toy comprising, in combination, at least a connector element and a plurality of rod elements adapted to be connected to one another by said connector element, said connector element having a central sleeve of rectangular cross section and two adjacent sleeves of rectangular cross section spaced from said central sleeve and from one another and a pair of substantially rectangular plate-like links interconnecting said adjacent sleeves with said central sleeve at one end portion of said sleeves, said plate-like links each connected along one edge to one side of said adjacent sleeves and connected along the edge opposite to said one edge to sides of said central sleeve respectively that are disposed perpendicularly to one another, said sleeves being formed with passages whose axes are substantially parallel to one another, said rod elements being received in said passages in frictionfit engagement with said sleeves, said plate-like links being disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axes of said passages and being flexible about an axis lying substantially in said plane, whereby said rod elements may be disposed in selected angular positions with respect to each other by flexing said plate-like links.

2. A construction toy comprising, in combination, at least a connector element and a plurality of rod elements adapted to be connected to one another by said connector element, said connector element having a central sleeve of rectangular cross-section and three adjacent sleeves of rectangular cross-section spaced from said central sleeve and from one another and three substantially rectangular plate-like links interconnecting said adjacent sleeves with said central sleeve at one end portion of said sleeves, said plate-like links each connected along one edge to one side of said adjacent sleeves and connected along the edge opposite to said one edge to sides of said central sleeve respectively that are disposed perpendicularly to one another so that said connector element is substantially T- shaped when viewed in plan, said sleeves being formed With passages whose axes are substantially parallel to one another, said rod elements being received in said passages in friction-fit engagement with said sleeves, said plate-like links being disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axes of said passages and being flexible about an axis lying substantially in said plane, whereby said rod elements may be disposed in selected angular positions with respect to each other by flexing said platelike links.

3. A construction toy comprising, in combination, at least one connector element and a plurality of rod elements adapted to be connected to one another by said connector element, said connector element having a central sleeve of rectangular cross-section and four adjacent sleeves of rectangular cross-section spaced from said central sleeve and from one another and four substantially rectangular platelike links interconnecting said adjacent sleeves with said central sleeve at one end portion of said sleeves, said platelike links each connected along one edge to one side of said adjacent sleeves and connected along the edge opposite to said one edge to sides of said central sleeve respectively that are disposed perpendicularly to one another so that said connector element is substantially cruciform when vie-wed in plan, said sleeves being formed with passages whose axes are substantially parallel to one another, said rod elements being received in said passages in friction-fit engagement with said sleeves, said plate-like links being disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axes of said passages and being flexible about an axis lying substantially in said plane, whereby said rod elements may be disposed in selected angular positions with respect to each other by flexing said plate-like links.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,092,217 4/1914 Hopkins. 1,347,808 7/1920 Franklin 287-49 X 2,526,129 10/1950 Groesbeck et al 16-150 2,611,160 9/1952 Hanesse. 2,746,087 5/ 1956 Dolezal. 2,861,388 11/1958 Favaretto 46-16 FOREIGN PATENTS 930,893 9/ 1947 France. 1,127,107 8/1956 France.

405,380 8/ 1943 Italy.

414,062 7/ 1946 Italy.

99,722 8/ 1940 Sweden.

CARL W. TOMLIN, Primary Examiner.

A. V. KUNDRAT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CONSTRUCTION TOY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, AT LEAST A CONNECTOR ELEMENT AND A PLURALITY OF ROD ELEMENTS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER BY SAID CONNECTOR ELEMENT, SAID CONNECTOR ELEMENT HAVING A CENTRAL SLEEVE OF RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTION AND TWO ADJACENT SLEEVES OF RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTION AND TWO ADJACENT SLEEVES OF AND FROM ONE ANOTHER AND A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR PLATE-LIKE LINKS INTERCONNECTING SAID ADJACENT SLEEVES WITH SAID CENTRAL SLEEVE AT ONE END PORTION OF SAID SLEEVES, SAID PLATE-LIKE LINKS EACH CONNECTED ALONG ONE EDGE TO ONE SIDE OF SAID ADJACENT SLEEVES AND CONNECTED ALONG THE EDGE OPPOSITE TO SAID ONE EDGE TO SIDES OF SAID CENTRAL SLEEVE RESPECTIVELY THAT ARE DISPOSED PERPENDICULARLY TO ONE ANOTHER, SAID SLEEVES BEING FORMED WITH PASSAGES WHOSE AXES ARE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER, SAID ROD ELEMENTS BEING RECEIVED IN SAID PASSAGES IN FRICTIONFIT ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SLEEVES, SAID PLATE-LIKE LINKS BEING DISPOSED IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXES OF SAID PASSAGES AND BEING FLEXIBLE ABOUT AN AXIS LYING SUBSTANTIALLY IN SAID PLANE, WHEREBY SAID ROD ELEMENTS MAY BE DISPOSED IN SELECTED ANGULAR POSITIONS WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER BY FLEXING SAID PLATE-LIKE LINKS. 